Perceived stress, anxiety, and coping states in medical and engineering students during examinations

This study aims to study the factors associated with stress, anxiety, and coping states in students of 1^st and 2^nd year in medical and engineering colleges during examinations.

This prospective, longitudinal study was conducted on 200 undergraduate medical and engineering students from 1^st to 2^nd year (50 in each year), after obtaining ethical approval from the institutional ethics committee. All the participants gave written informed consent. All students filled a questionnaire which consisted of a general information sheet, perceived stress scale, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, brief COPE inventory, and sources of stress questionnaire 1 month before and 1 month after their university examinations. Data were analyzed using t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Chi-square test as appropriate.

In medical students, perceived stress was significantly higher in those in the management quota (both years), living in shared accommodation and from nuclear family (1^st year) and male (2^nd year). Only accommodation had a statistically significant relationship with perceived stress in 2^nd year engineering students. A statistically significant association of perceived stress and anxiety with academic performance was observed. Anxiety in students was significantly more before the examination compared to after the examination. The association of all the coping strategies used, with the academic performance, was statistically significant.

In both medical and engineering students, there was a significant association of perceived stress and anxiety with academic performance. Both medical and engineering students used active coping a little more than avoidant coping strategies during the examination time. The association of all the coping strategies used, with the academic performance, was statistically significant, thereby proving the importance of coping states in academic performance.